Tom Brady would be doing himself a disservice if he didn’t at least see what was out there.
But after the future Hall of Famer goes through his free agency tour, one of his former coaches believes Brady will realize he’d be best served to stay put.
Brady officially will hit the open market when the new NFL year begins in mid-March. While the Patriots clearly weren’t strong enough to win a Super Bowl this season, former New England defensive coordinator Eric Mangini is confident Bill Belichick will pave the way for a bounce-back campaign, which should entice the 42-year-old.
“One thing that Bill has shown consistently is his ability to adjust and to change and to adapt and to be ahead of the curve,” Mangini said Tuesday on FS1’s “First Things First.” “The advantage they have in New England is Josh McDaniels is coming back … and for Tom, he can go somewhere else and maybe you have a successful few years, but his best chance for success is in New England right now. He’s not worried about what the scheme is. He’s not worried about how practice is going to work. He’s not worried about where he’s going to park and where he’s going to live and all of those things that we take for granted that he will have to learn again if he goes somewhere else. His best opportunity to just jump back in, compete at a high level and possibly win a Super Bowl is in New England with that group.”
Nick Wright is on the other end of the spectrum. The “First Things First” co-host believes the length of the Patriots’ to-do list will prevent the franchise from keeping Brady in the mix. But when you consider the teams that are poised to pursue Brady, Mangini’s take appears to be the stronger one.
